10 Years Previous
"Alright, class settle down." The teacher enters the room, walks over to her desk and lifts up a paper, "So, it looks like we left off with David on Friday, so Charlotte, that means you're up. Just a reminder that everyone is to turn their listening ears on and talking mouths off while your classmates are speaking."
A hand goes up, "Yes, Jason."
"Can I go out in the hallway, because these speeches have been so bad my ears have been bleeding." The class laughs at the comment.
"Quiet. You all have the choice of sitting here and quietly listening to the speeches or spending the class doing work in the office. Any volunteers to go and sit with Mr Tomlinson?"
The students all quickly shake their heads, none of them wanting to spend any more time than necessary in the company of Principal, who more often than not seems to forget to put deodorant on and always has pit stains, not to mention his badly stained teeth.
"Good, then, let's begin."
Charlotte Jennifer Gordon, or C.J. as most of her friends call her slowly makes her way up to the front of the class, for the dreaded public speaking portion of her English class.
Standing up there, she fiddles with the cue cards in her hands, taking some deep breaths and trying to picture her classmates in their underwear as her Dad told her too. Looking towards the brothers Grimm also known as Jason and David, she shakes her head trying to clear that picture out of her head.
She makes eye contact with her best friend, Matthew Finnegan aka "Finn" and he does his best job to reassure her that everything will be okay.
"You may begin anytime you're ready, Charlotte."
Standing in front of the group, she feels her heart rate pick up, and tears threaten to come to the surface.
"Look at her, she's gonna cry, like the little baby she is," Jason yells out.
"Jason, off to the principal's office with you!"
Charlotte stands at the front, frozen in fear and then as the contents of her stomach threaten to re-appear, she takes off running out of the classroom and into the girl's washroom.
She sits crying against the wall for God knows how long, before the door opens, and she feels someone sit down beside her, "Everything will be okay, C.J."
Charlotte wraps her arms around her older sister and sobs on her shoulder, "Why can't I do it, Kenz?"
Mackenzie holds her sister, "Some people just aren't meant to talk in front of large groups, and it would seem that you aren't. But you have something they don't, and that's the ability to bring words and stories to life on the page. I know you worked hard on your speech and I'm sure that Mrs Hamilton knows that as well; so what, if you don't get to move on to the local competition, all that matters is that you tried your best."
"Thanks, Kenz. But what about Mom and Dad?"
"Their heads are so far into their work and research right now, that I'm sure they don't even know what's going on with school and us."
"It's hard sometimes, you know, living up to the expectations that are placed on me because of who our parents are."
"I know and don't think that I don't understand because I do; I didn't understand something in Biology and put up my hand to ask the teacher a question, and I swear I saw jaws drop around me." Charlotte laughs, "You actually didn't know something?"
Mackenzie rolls her eyes and smiles at her sister, "Did I just ruin the perfect image you have of me?"
"You're nowhere near perfect, Kenz." They both laugh.
"How did you know where I was?"
"Finn came and got me. Do you feel up to going back to class now?"
"Not, really, Jason and David are probably just going to make fun of me again."
"You need to learn how to just ignore those two meatheads, one of these days, they'll get what's coming to them." Mackenzie stands up and reaches her hand down to Charlotte, and helps her stand up.
"Let's get you washed up, and I'll walk you back to class."
Standing outside of the classroom, Charlotte hugs her sister before making the walk back inside and sitting down in her seat.
Finn looks over towards her, subconsciously asking her if she is alright. She looks over at her best friends since they were in diapers and nods. He nods and turns back to face the front and listen to the speech that is currently being presented.
With the bell just about to ring, the teacher stands up, "Charlotte, could you stay after class for a moment, please?" She nods and remains in her seat when the bell rings.
As the rest of the class quickly empties out of the room, with the exception of Finn, who slowly makes his way to the door, Mrs Hamilton takes a seat in front of Charlotte.
"It's okay, I understand, it's hard to get up there and speak in front of people, especially some of your fellow classmates, who belong in a cage rather a classroom." Mrs Hamilton smiles and shakes her head, causing Charlotte to laugh, "Oops! Don't tell anyone I said that, or I could be fired."
"I won't, don't worry."
"How about we make you a deal, I need to submit a mark and comments on your speech, how about you come back here at lunch and you can recite it in front of just me and perhaps, Matthew, if you like."
Charlotte nods, "Thank you. I'd much prefer that."
"Okay, I'll see you then; now, go ahead to your next class, before you're late."
Charlotte collects her binder and pencil case from the top of her desk, before heading out of the classroom.
"What did Mrs Hamilton want?" Charlotte jumps, not expecting anyone to be there.
"Finn, you've gotta stop scaring me like that, and I'm sure you heard what she said with your supersonic hearing."
"I did, do you want me to come with you?" Charlotte wraps her arm in her best friend's arm, "Of course, I do, remember we're a package deal!"
Charlotte proceeds to recite her speech on the future, and the role computers will play in it for Mrs Hamilton and Finn during the lunch hour.
Mrs Hamilton smiles as Charlotte finished up, "Well done, Charlotte. Do you really think that in the future everyone's lives will be completely mapped out from the time they are born until they pass away?"
"My Father and I were talking about it, and he seems to think that very soon we will all have chips implanted and that computers will rule us and that the need for choices will be taken away from us, as all the possible outcomes will all be broken down into percentages and numbers and they will dictate how we proceed, he calls it "The Known Theory."
"Interesting, I hope there never comes a day when computers take over as teachers, because then I don't know what I would do."
"They would tell you what to do."
"I guess if that's the theory, then that would be what happens. Have a good afternoon, and I'll see the two of tomorrow for hopefully, the last class of speeches."
"Bye, Mrs Hamilton."
Charlotte and Finn make their way out of the classroom and down the hallway towards their lockers to collect their lunches.
"You don't really believe all that stuff about computers taking over do you, Charlie?"
"It's the entire basis of my Dad's research and he seems to think it will happen. Honestly, to me it all sounds like the basis of a storyline for of the Sci-Fi books that you and I like to read."
Finn nods, "I like computers and all but I don't think we have the technology yet for them to take over."
Charlotte nods and grabs Finn's arm pulling him towards the lunch room, "Come on; I'm starving!"
"When aren't you?"
"Growing body and mind."
"Uh huh." Finn laughs.